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Forum on Education Abroad Seventh Annual Business Meeting Friday, April 4, 2008 9:00am – 9:25am Park Plaza Hotel, Imperial Ballroom, Boston, Massachusetts
I. Welcome Remarks Mary Dwyer, Chair of the Forum Board, opened the meeting at 9 am. In her opening remarks she noted that the Forum is as an organization in excellent shape and that it has assumed a proactive role in the face of the scrutiny of the field over the past year. She cited the excellent support of Dickinson College in serving as the strategic partner of the Forum. Dwyer noted the leadership of Brian Whalen as president and CEO and the outstanding work of the Forum staff in helping to make this an excellent year for the organization.
II. Report on Activities and Status of the Membership Brian Whalen, President and CEO, reported on the Forum’s activities from July 2007 through March 2008. He thanked the membership for their support and for their work in bringing to fruition many Forum projects. Whalen noted the following achievements (handouts of the following report were provided at each table):
Administrative • Council meeting in Carlisle, July, 2007 • Board meetings in Carlisle, July, 2007 and Philadelphia, February, 2008 • Ethics Meeting convened in Carlisle, September 23 – 25, 2007
• Forum cited over 50 times in the media since August, 2007 • Represented in over a dozen workshops and sessions at conferences in the U.S. and abroad
Member Benefits and Services Standards and Quality Improvement • Quality Improvement Program (QUIP)
Member Educational Resources • Volumes 15 and 16 of Frontiers • Third Edition of the Standards of Good Practice for Education Abroad • Code of Ethics for Education Abroad • A Guide to Outcomes Assessment in Education Abroad • A History of US Study Abroad: Beginnings to 1965 • Web Resources
• AbroadView Magazine • Fireside Dialogue for Mid-Career Professionals • Over 2,000 subscribers to the Forum News • Tenfold increase in Web site traffic • Expanded Workshops and Conference Sessions Research and Data Collection • Participation in Surveys:
• READ Database • Education Abroad Glossary • Two Member Institution students selected for Undergraduate Research Awards • Twelve member institutions participating in the BEVI Outcomes Assessment Project • Twelve institutions participating in the SAGE Outcomes Assessment Project
III. Financial Report Paul Davies, Board Member and incoming Treasurer reported on behalf of the Board that the Forum continues to improve its financial position and finished the FY ended June 07 with a surplus of over $100,000. This was possible due to the support of Forum members, the IFSA Foundation grant, support from Dickinson College, and the work of the staff of the Forum. He noted that for the third year in a row, Forum auditors, (this year Boyer and Ritter) have issued an unqualified or “clean” opinion on our financial statements. This is a credit to Brian and his staff. Davies noted that copies of the audited financial statements can be found on each table.
IV. Report from the Board’s Nominations Committee Jerry Wilcox, Vice Chair of the Board, reported on behalf of the Board’s Nominations Committee. With the end of the terms of three Board members, the Nominations Committee has been actively seeking new members whose areas of expertise will enhance the work of the Board in strategic ways. The Board has approved the nomination to the Board of Carol Bellamy (President and CEO of World Learning and President of the School for International Training), Mary Anne Grant (President and Executive Director of the International Student Exchange Programs, ISEP), and Peggy Plympton (Vice President of Finance and Administration at Lehigh University). Wilcox reported that at the February, 2008 Board Meeting, the Board voted to renew the three-year terms of the following Board members effective July 1, 2008: Mark Chichester, Mary Dwyer, Bill Hoye, Kathy Sideli, Mick Vande Berg. He reported that the following Board members are not being renewed and will rotate off of the Board effective July 1, 2008: Mark Scheid and Jerry Wilcox. Wilcox reported that Madeleine Green resigned from the Board in October, 2007. Finally, Wilcox reported that the Board voted to approve the following as officers effective July 1, 2008: Vice Chair, Barbara Rowe; Secretary, Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley; Treasurer, Paul Davies. Mary Dwyer’s term as Chair of the Board expires June 30, 2009.
V. Expression of Gratitude to Outgoing Board Members Mary Dwyer thanked outgoing Board Members Madeleine Green, Mark Scheid, and Jerry Wilcox for their service and leadership to the Forum. She noted especially the role that Scheid played as a founding Board member of the Forum and the role that Wilcox played as Vice-Chair of the Board over the past three years.
VI. Report on Activities of the Forum Council Sheila Bayne, Forum Council Chair, reported on the activities of the Forum Council and referred to the handout available at each table.
The work of the Forum Council continues to be organized in accordance with the five goals articulated in its mission statement: • establishing standards of good practice • improving study abroad curricula • undertaking data collection • promoting outcomes assessment • advocating for high quality education abroad programs
The committees organized around these five goals have continued to advance the agenda of the Forum during the past year.
Standards of Good Practice Committee (Chair: Michael Steinberg, IES) The Standards Committee took a leadership role in responding to the investigations of study-abroad programs initiated in August 2007 by the office of the Attorney General of New York. A major meeting on ethics, attended by colleagues from over forty member institutions, was convened in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Sept. 23-25 and resulted in a set of ethical principles that were further refined at a meeting in Toronto in mid-November. A core group of committee members formulated a draft document which was sent to membership on January 15 with a request for input within 30 days. The new Code of Ethics was released by the Forum on March 3 and has been posted to the Forum website along with Media Talking Points and a Code of Ethics Timeline. The Code of Ethics has generated significant interest in the media and has been welcomed as a significant contribution to the profession.
Data Committee (Chair: Kim Kreutzer, University of Colorado—Boulder) In preparation for the meeting on ethics held in September, the Data Committee conducted a survey of the membership to gauge the industry standard regarding relationships between study-abroad providers and institutions of higher education and to assess current ethical practice in other areas. The results of the survey formed the basis for discussion at the September meeting and led to the formulation of the Code of Ethics. A survey on the development and profiles of professionals in study abroad, “Pathways to the Profession,” was undertaken in January with a closing date of February 15. At the Boston conference the Data Committee will report benchmark data from the survey, including job functions, title and qualifications, salaries and workload and will discuss next steps for use of the data.
Curricular Development and Academic Design Committee (Chair: Lance Kenney, Villanova University) The committee has been instrumental in developing a pre-conference workshops and conference sessions. A possible future topic will be science and study abroad on the graduate school level.
Advocacy Committee (Chair: Heidi Soneson, University of Minnesota—Twin Cities) The committee is working on a manual for use by study-abroad offices in advocating visibility on campus, which is the subject of a conference session. A new project of the Advocacy Committee begun in the past year is the creation of a prototype standard application for study abroad. In addition, the committee oversees the selection process for the Peter A. Wollitzer Advocacy Award. In conjunction with the Standards Committee and the newly-released Code of Ethics, the Advocacy Committee will seek ways to support a culture of ethics on campuses.
Research and Assessment Committee (Chair: Mell Bolen, Brethren Colleges Abroad) The Forum Research Awards process, managed by this committee, continues to showcase the most rigorous and significant undergraduate research occurring as part of an education abroad program. Following the publication last year of the Guide to Outcomes Assessment in Education Abroad, the committee is preparing a second volume in its publication series on implementation of assessment data.
Our thanks and congratulations to all who have participated in the work of the Forum Council and its goals committees during the past year.
VII. Results of Forum Council Election Sheila Bayne, Council Chair, thanked everyone who ran for election to the Council, and the members who voted. She announced the results of the Forum Council election and welcomed the following colleagues: Joe Finkhouse (Boston University), Jeremy Geller, and Andrew Law (Dennison University). She announced that two members were re-elected to the Council: Kim Kreutzer (University of Colorado) and Michael Steinberg (IES).
VIII. Expression of Gratitude to Outgoing Forum Council Members Sheila Bayne thanked the two outgoing members of the Forum Council for their service, Carol Dickerman and Pat Martin, and presented them with tokens of appreciation.
IX. Expression of Gratitude and Closing Remarks Chair of the Board Mary Dwyer thanked Sheila Bayne for her outstanding leadership as Chair of the Forum Council and noted that Bayne will be cycling off the Council as of June 30, 2008. She cited the fact that Bayne has led the Council to one of its most productive periods ever and presented her with a token of appreciation. Dwyer thanked those in attendance for coming and closed the Annual Business Meeting at 9:25am.
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